Danger Road by A.L. Tait

This is an awesome story! Leo and his younger brother Alex have been unwilling listeners to their mother’s passion for True Crime podcasts. The current listening session has special significance because it revisits the death from 25 years ago of Corey Armstrong, a contemporary of their mother (and their now estranged father) and many of the adults connected to Leo’s Rugby team. To stop the brother’s bickering and persistent fighting, their mother suggests they try to solve the death of Corey Armstrong themselves. This begins a compelling investigation by the two teens (and Alex’s clever friend Harriet, known as Harry). Leo’s sporting competitiveness and Alex’s artistic and observational skills, in combination with Harry’s different insights all work together to unravel clues that have been overlooked for 25 years, but sadly people they know may become implicated in Corey’s death. 

This is the kind of book you can recommend to any reader aged 12-16 and you can be sure they will enjoy it. I am sure they will also recommend it to their friends. There is the usual sibling rivalry within families, friendships that are sometimes problematic, sporting and artistic talents on display, the beginnings of teen attraction and a mystery that needs solving. The teens keep up with sports training expectations and homework and are essentially respectful to adults (rare in most teen fiction) even though they do sometimes stretch boundaries and test themselves, but they are relatable characters that you grow to like. The author has managed to combine the true-crime phenomenon with a mysterious death from the past and create a contemporary mystery story that is really exciting. The story is told in different chapters from the perspective of the two brothers, and this provides different insights and variety. This story may inspire young readers to listen to podcasts or read Crime mysteries… or maybe explore sport or art in their own lives!

Themes: Mystery, True-Crime, podcasts, brothers, Rugby, sporting teams.

Carolyn Hull